Toothpick



Feb. 11, 1930. G. H. Hr-:YMANN ETAL TOOTHPICK Filed July 23, 1929 v zz @wie

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.Zava/01D. Fase Patented Feb. 11, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE H. HEYMANN, OF LOUISVILLE, AND EDWARD D. ROSE, F BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY TOOTHPICK Application led July 23, 1929. Serial No. 380,406.

This invention relates to toothpicks and more particularly to a toothpick having a resilient or semi-rigid core of metal, wood or Celluloid and a coating of rubber, gelatine,

celluloid or other substance which may be made to adhere to the core, thus providing a toothpick which will not irritate or injure the gum (issue and which does not easily absorb or become contaminated with infection, all as will be described more fully hereinafter and as claimed.

It is an object of our invention to provide a non-breakable toothpick of suilicient rigidity to withstand repeated use, but having a surface comparatively soft and elastic to prevent mutilaion of the gum tissue;

Another object ot' our invention is to provide a rubber covered toothpickwhich, in use, stimulates the gum tissue and raises its resistance to infection.

A t'urther object is to provide a toothpiok having a flexible, non-absorbing point suitable for removing food particles from between the lower anterior teeth, the point being formed by a dipping or molding operation.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description and drawing,y in which 3o Figure l is a view in elevation ot one of the toothpicks made in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a core piece;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view through a finished toothpick and core piece which is embedded therein;

Figure 4 .is a vertical sectional View through a finished toothpick, taken at right angles to the sectional view shown in Figure 3.

Referring more particularly to the dra'wl' ino:

'The core piece 10 which is shown in Figure 2 is flat and is shaped to taper off to a point at one end while the other end is rounded as at l1. A plurality of elongated slots 12 are punched in the body vof the core, these serving not only to make the core more light but, also, to more securely bind the coating to the core. The core piece 10 is preferably punched from a sheet of metal such as thin sheet steel or aluminum, but good results are also obtained with core pieces made ot' Wood and Celluloid.

In the best form of our invention now known to us the core piece 10 is dipped into a rubber solution and a coating of soft rubber is, thus, built up upon the core. The coating is, advantageously, thicker at the blunt end ot' the toothpick so that it can be readily held in the fingers and more easily manipulated.

Instead ot a rubber coating our invention contemplates a surface otl Celluloid, gelatine, vulcanite or other substance which will suitably adhere to the core piece 10, and it is tlnere'ore not conined to a coating formed by dipping, since the manner in which the coating is applied depends upon the substance used.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that our invention provides a toothpick which will not break or splinter' and which, beingr impervious or substantially impervious to moisture, can easily he cleaned and will not become contaminated with infection while at the same time the coating will not injure the gums, but being relatively soi't massages them and promotes a heathy condition which raises their resistance to disease.

'hat we. claim as our invention is:

A toothpick comprising a tapered, sheet metal core. formed with elongated perforations, a sott rubber coating entirely surrounding and embedding said core, being bonded thereto b v interlocking in said perforations, the handle portion ot' the toothpick being thicker than its point b v added thickness of coating, thereby to facilitate its manipulation.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

GEORGE H; HEYMANN. EDVARD D. ROSE. 

